Sears sold houses like catalog goods, shipping pre-cut kits

In the first decade of the 20th century, building a house in the United States meant hiring an architect for custom design and a construction crew for skilled on-site labor, a cost structure that put home construction out of reach for many working and middle-class families who could not afford to commission a one-off design and pay a crew's day rates.

Starting in 1908, Sears applied that same standardized mail-order model to housing itself through its Modern Homes Program, issuing a dedicated catalog offering dozens of house designs.

Prefabricated every component at company mills, pre-cut to exact measurements, so a buyer could assemble a house from numbered instructions with family help.

Pre-cutting lumber removed the need for skilled carpentry, so amateurs could build.

Labeling and numbering parts made assembly possible with just an instruction booklet.

Mail-order distribution bypassed local builders and architects, cutting costs.

A catalog of designs let customers choose a standard model, avoiding custom design fees.

When a category is gated by scarce professional labor, standardize the components and let the customer self-serve.

The Sears Modern Homes Program ran from 1908 to 1940 (some sources say 1942), ultimately shipping more than 70,000–75,000 homes across North America from a catalog that grew from 44 initial designs to more than 370–447 distinct models over its run, with many kits offering amenities like central heating, indoor plumbing and electricity in rural markets years ahead of comparably priced custom-built housing.